The perfect personality type for success at work

The best personality type for success is a combination of optimism and realism. Picture: ThinkstockSource:Supplied

ARE you a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person? Turns out you don't need to be either, with the best personality type for work success a new breed altogether.

A "realistic optimist" is the best personality for work success - a type that combines the positivity of optimists with the reality of pessimists, according to Sophia Chou, an organisational psychology researcher at the National Taiwan University.

Their sunny outlook stops them getting depressed, while a sense of realism enables them to perform better at work, the Huffington Post reports.

While previous personality studies have focused on the glass half-full or half-empty views of the world, Ms Chou's study looked at the "positive illusions" of more than 200 students.

She found there was a distinct group of people who tend to be both optimistic and realistic, focusing on accuracy rather than an overly rosy view of the future.

"Realistic optimists tend to choose accuracy over self-enhancement; the unrealistic optimists tend to choose self-enhancement," Ms Chou said, adding that the realistic optimists tended to get better grades perhaps because they were under no illusions about the amount of work required.

Ms Chou said they also tend to have greater self control which allowed them to feel good about their choices.

"Every time they face an issue or a challenge or a problem, they won't say 'I have no choice and this is the only thing I can do.' They will be creative, they will have a plan A, plan B and plan C," she said.

The only downside is they can be anxiety prone as they recognise the possibility of failure.

Ms Chou said to get the mindset, people should maintain a clear view of reality and think about the factors they are able to control.